Painful Ailments and Hidden Ills - Another Interpretation of Modern Literati - Wen Gu Bookstore

Author: Wei Bangliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: In 2003, my university classmate Zhang Jun asked me to write an article. In a highly free state of mind, I wrote the short essay "To Sing High Notes or Low Notes: It's a Question." This article was later selected and published in the Book House magazine by Mr. Hu Changming in the same year, and was by the widely known Reader the following year. The success of this article made me realize a simple truth: to make writing a joy, one must learn to write for oneself. For a long time, I was immersed in reading due to doing nothing. However, lengthy and tedious reading can be exhausting and tiring. Therefore, I had to take a break in my reading journey—to quietly ruminate on the texts I had read. In my view, this rumination is what is called reflection and thought. As Confucius said, "Learning without reflection is lost; reflection without learning is idle." Without rumination and thought, extensive knowledge is merely a superficial robe that looks good but is not useful. I particularly love a famous quote by Shen Congwen: "Reflect on me, and you can understand 'me'; reflect on me, and you can recognize 'humanity.'" Here, I dare to add my own concluding remark: "Reflect on me, and you can truly understand 'books.'" A life without reflection is not worth living; reading without reflection is not worth mentioning. In my opinion, the purpose of reading is not to make oneself a two-legged bookshelf; nor is it to turn one's brain into a battlefield for others' thoughts. I believe that reading means "stealing" a few suitable "weapons" from others' "arsenal" and using the light of others' thoughts to illuminate one's own life journey. Another saying I like is: "Others exist beyond oneself, and oneself exists among others." Since "others exist beyond oneself," one should "extend oneself to others"; and since "oneself exists among others," one should not beautify oneself. Mr. Liang Shuming once said, "Thought or a principle is originally an answer to a problem. The lack of thought is because there are no problems. Conversely, a person's scholarship lies in their ability to discover problems. They can perceive even the slightest differences in opinions and views, pursue them earnestly, and not overlook the past. Problems are the roots, and great scholarship is like a great tree that grows from these roots. The environment and experiences (reading is included) and life practices are his nourishing materials, gradually forming a large system over time." Someone of my limited talent naturally dares not to aspire to possess such great scholarship as "a great tree," but discovering the "roots" of problems is the initial motivation and greatest purpose for me writing this book. Understanding others is not easy; understanding oneself is even harder. In this sense, it is not so much that the author analyzes one after another in this book, but rather that the author self-examines one after another in this book; it is not so much that the author diagnoses others' "hidden pains," but rather that the author explores his own "dark illnesses." This is the preface. Understanding others is not easy; understanding oneself is even harder. In this sense, it is not so much that the author analyzes one after another in this book, but rather that the author self-examines one after another in this book; it is not so much that the author diagnoses others' "hidden pains," but rather that the author explores his own "dark illnesses."